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Alberta is divided into 87 ridings, each with their own history, issues, and slate of candidates. But some races are expected to be more heated than others, and come election day will be closely watched political battlegrounds. As the clock ticks down to election day on April 16, we bring you our picks for ridings to watch.

EDMONTON—Time will tell whether the decision to appoint former Edmonton Eskimos president and CEO Len Rhodes as the United Conservative Party candidate in Edmonton-Meadows proves to be a boon for the party or if voters in the area will see it as a betrayal of the party’s promise for open, democratic nominations.

Party leader Jason Kenney defended the decision during a March 14 press event in Camrose, Alta., saying that while he still believes in the value of democratic nominations, he is allowed as leader to intervene for the benefit of the party “in unique circumstances.”

“We need people of Len Rhodes’ credibility and experience,” said Kenney, emphasizing Rhodes’ business acumen and charitable contributions, adding, “This is somebody who can play a major role in a future government.”

UCP nomination hopefuls Joel Mullan, Arundeep Sandhu and Sant Sharma had already been campaigning for months when Rhodes was selected.

Those gathered at a protest organized by members of the Punjabi community — in a riding where nearly one-in-five people identifies Punjabi as their home language — on March 10, however, were unconvinced, saying the forced nomination of Rhodes over local nominees has caused the community to lose trust in the UCP.

“How can we trust, as a common man, that Kenney is going to win and do justice to our community, our riding, here in Meadows?” said Nav Singh, a resident of Edmonton-Meadows who said he was originally an NDP supporter and switched to UCP because of nomination candidate Arundeep Sandhu.

Edmonton-Meadows NDP candidate Jasvir Deol — who ran for the federal NDP in Edmonton Mill Woods in 2015, placing third with just under 13 per cent of the vote against popular candidates Liberal MP Amarjeet Sohi and Conservative Tim Uppal — beat out Edmonton-Mill Creek MLA Denise Woollard to represent the southeast Edmonton riding.

The NDP is hoping Deol will have a home-court advantage in Edmonton-Meadows over UCP challenger Rhodes, as Deol says he has lived in the area for 26 years. Rhodes lives in St. Albert.

Also leaning on his local connections is Alberta Party candidate Amrit Matharu, who says he has lived in the riding for 12 years.

Correction — April 8, 2019: This article was edited from a previous version that incorrectly identified Jon Carson as the incumbent for the area that is now Edmonton-Meadows. In fact, the NDP’s Denise Woollard was the previous elected MLA for this area.

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